Man Uses PlayStation Console to Smuggle Drugs

Tyson Saviro Santolla, a 22-year-old British Columbia native will be extradited to Australia after he tried to smuggle thousands of ecstasy pills inside a PlayStation console.

Santolla thought he was being pretty sly when he used his twin brother’s passport to flee Australia, but little did he know that border authorities were expecting him.

“Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officials had been alerted by Australian authorities that Santolla, who was out on bail for a drug-smuggling charge in that country, might attempt to evade the law and return to Vancouver,” a CBSA spokesperson said.

“Through investigations, they found that Santolla’s twin brother (Taylor Santolla) had flown out of Australia, but there was no record of his re-entry.”

Santolla had attempted to mail the package containing the console, and 3,364 ecstasy pills, back in 2008 to Surfer’s Paradise, Australia.

Customs officers intercepted the package, replacing the drugs with a listening device and tracking it to its destination, where they overhead Santolla and another man “celebrating” its arrival.

Santolla was arrested after the plane he was on landed in Vancouver last July. Last month, he pleaded guilty to using someone else’s passport to enter the country and was sentenced to six months time-served.

He was to be sent back to Brisbane Thursday after reportedly consenting to the extradition.